Aquatic amusement device



Oct. 20, 1936. HVF. MAYNES AQUATIC AMUSEMENT DEVICE Filed March 16, 19 36 Fig.1.

j INVENTOR 1a .Maynes,

Patented Oct. 20, 1936 AQUATIC AMUSEMENT- DEVICE .Hyla F. Maynes, North Tonawandm N. Y., as

signor of one-half .to Emma C. Maynes North Tonawanda, N. Y.-

Application March 16, 1936,SerialNo. 69,185

7 Claims. (01; 114-51) This invention relates to aquatic amusement devices and it has particular relation to a motor boat adapted to be navigated in pools, lakes, tanks, etc., in amusement parks, or the like, for

15 the enjoyment of children and adults.

One object of the invention is to provide a motor driven boat constructed so as to be safe against capsizing, but adapted to be steered harmlessly against, and shufiied among, other similar boats.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved hull construction for motor boats of the type employedfor amusement, wherebythe propeller and boat hull are protected againstinjury in the event of collision.

Another object of the invention is'to provide a type of amusement boat-including a novel seating arrangement for a plurality of passengers, as well as protectivestructure surrounding the passengers to shield them from splashing of water or danger of being struck incidental tocollision of boats.

The boat is simple in construction, of sheet metal, or other durable material, and includes a relatively plain hull of substantially oval shape in plan and sloping gently from the zone of the waterline upwardly to a central turret-like structure in whichpassengers are adaptedto be seated and in whicha small motor is installed. The hull also slopes downwardlyand inwardly from the water -line, and a central channel formed centrally-of the hull bottom tapers from the front toward the rear of the boat to provide a partially surrounding structure for the propeller which is disposed toward the front of the boat. The channel provides for proper application of the propeller to the water in that an adequate body of watersurrounds the propeller even thoughth'e boat may be in water only sufiiciently deep to fioat it. V

The seats are so'arranged on the bottom ofthe boat immediatelyabove the sloping channel that one passenger can be seated upon a rear seat with his kneeson' opposite sides of the frontseat.

In the drawing: 1 Fig. 1 is a plan of motor boat constructed-according to the invention; "Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the motor boat;

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic section taken sub stantially along the line IIIII'I of Fig-('2, and

Fig.- 4 is a fragmentary vertical section, on-a larger scale, taken substantially along the line I-VIV'of Fig.1.

-Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawing it will be 55 observed thattheplancontour of a boat shown therein is substantially oval, althoughit is to be understood-that-the contour is not necessarily of this particular configuration. It has beenfound that, in order to'minimize possibility of capsizing, the boat is so designed that its length is less than'twice its-width, and-its main body portion is 'relatively flat.

hull I2 of the boat includes a lower section l4 and an upper section H) which are somewhat dish-like in form andare applied to each other in opposed relation. A horizontal peripheralporner I 6 is thus formed surrounding the hull atitsextreme-outer-edge and the lower surface-ofthe lower section '14, as well as the upper surface of the upper section I5, is convex. These hull surfaces converge toward'each other ata relatively sharp angle atall locations around theouter marginalportions of the hull. 'A water tight gasket IT is inserted between the hull sections adjacent their outer edges-and suitable fastening elements I 8 secure these marginal-porti'ons in tightly-clamped relation upon the gasket. -The upper hull wall or section [5 can be formed in sections "and secured togethenas indicated'att9, by means of bolts, or other suitable as to-be firmly secured together and to the hull sections'in any suitable manner, for example, by welding, bolting, riveting, or the like.

' A bottom channel 25 formed in the lower portion of thelower'sectionhas its deeper portion 26 extending third the 'distance from the bow of the hull to I the stern,

uniformly in size approximately one and then =tapers from a location, in-

dicated approximately at 21,-'to become shallower toward the boat: stern, but not necessarily narrower. f-While-theftapering of the channel commencesa'pproximately onethird of the distance from the *bow to the-stern of the boat'in the ex ample of the construction shown in the drawing, the invention isnot dependent upon this precise relation, but itis preferable that the tapering begin at least nearer the bow, and that such tapering *terminat by merging into the configuration section l4 boat.-

off-the bottom surface of "thelower atalocation nearer the stern of the A turret 30 of substantially the same general plan configuration as the hull is built rigidly in the central portion of the latter and extends a considerable distance above the main hull body. The circumferential wall of the turret is located a considerable distance inwardly fro-m the edge of the hull at all points of the latter. In fact, the turret is approximately one half the width of the hull and also about one half the length thereof. Also, the hull body exclusive of the turret is relatively flat and its depth is much less than half the maximum Width of the hull.

The floor of the turret is definedby the bottom of the lower section l4 and a front seat 32 is installed in the central portion of the turret as viewed from above. This seat slopes rearwardly along the central floor portion defining the tapering channel. A second seat 33 of somewhat crescent or arcuate shape is disposed immediately behind the front seat and in contact therewith, or as a part thereof. Spaces 31, similar to troughs, on opposite sides of the front seat are provided for receiving the feet of the passenger carried by the rear seat, and these spaces also extend forwardly a suificient distance to accommodate the feet of the passenger carried by the front seat.

Two passengers can thus be seated in a relatively small space and the feet of the rear passenger can extend forwardly as far forward as, or farther than, the knees of the front passenger.

Both seats 32 and 33 slope rearwardly accordingto the taper of the floor defining the channel 28 in the lower portion of the hull. Since the passenger seats are approximately in the bottom of the boat, the center of gravity of the boat when loaded with passengers is so low as to be an important factor in avoiding any tendency of the boat to capsize during its operation. If desirable, a suitable padding or upholstering 38 can be provided about the inside wall of the turret adjacent the seats.

It is apparent that the two seats can be made in the form of a single seat structure and, as indicated in Fig. 2, the rear seat can be arranged at a slightly greater elevation than the front seat. The shoulder 40 at the junction of the seats conforms to the contour of the rear portion of the front seat and constitutes a modified back to prevent the front passenger from sliding rearwardly. I I e The motive power of the boat is supplied by a conventional small motor 42, for example, like the well-known outboard motor, or even the electric motor, and is supported in a bearing support 43 rigidly carried in the front portion of the hull floor in the area of the front of the turret. A drive shaft 45 for the motor is disposed in a substantially vertical tubular housing 46 which is rotatably mounted in the bearing support 43 and carries the motor thereon. A collar 41 rigidly embracing the housing rests upon the upper side of the bearing support 43 to serve as a thrust bearing in carrying the weight of the motor.

A propeller 50 which is mounted upon the lower end of the housing 46 is connected to the shaft 45 by conventional gearing 52, and is located in the deeper portion of the channel 28 adjacent the front extremity of the turret.

This type of motor is provided with a steering wheel or handle 53 for turning the entire housing 46 and motor assembly in the bearing support 43 incidental to the steering of the boat, and a rudder 54 is provided upon the lower portion of the rotatable housing 46 opposite therudder.

It is intended that the peripheral corner of the hull structure be substantially even with the water line when the motor boat is operated. Then in maneuvering several boats against one another in a body of water, the sloping surface of one of the hulls will ride up the sloping upper surface of another boat hull. Thus sudden shocks which might injure the boats are avoided. Likewise, since the outer circumferential surface of the turret is concave and merges into the curvature of the hull, the edge of a colliding boat hull will slide over this surface in the event force at impact is sufficient to move the boat edge to the location of the turret.

It will be apparent that boats of the kind described are well adapted to withstand buffeting and shuffling among one another without injury either to the boat' structure or to the passengers carried thereby. On the other hand, the variety and interest afforded in navigating the boats assures amusement attractive to both children and adults.

Although only one form of the invention has been shown and described in detail, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention is not so limited, but that various changes can be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention or from the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An amusement device comprising a boat hull body for navigation in water and having a length not exceeding twice its width, upper and lower hull walls of the body including outer surfaces for engaging and tilting a like hull and converging toward each other to their outer periphery to form a circumferential corner, said corner substantially defining the water line of the hull body while afloat, whereby other amusement devices of similar construction are slidable over the converging surfaces in response to navigating the boats against each other.

2. An amusement boat having a length not exceeding twice its width and comprising a relatively flat hull body, upper and lower walls of said body including outer surfaces for engaging and tilting a like hull and converging outwardly to form circumferential corners coinciding substantially with the water line of the .body, seating structure'arranged centrally of the hull body at a location materially spaced in horizontal directions from the entire circumferential corner.

3. An amusement having a length not exceeding twice its width and boat comprising a relatively flat hull body, upper and lower walls of said body including outer surfaces for engaging and tilting a like hull and converging outwardly to form circumferential corners coinciding substantially with the water line of the body, seating structure arranged centrally of the hull, and a turret incorporated in the hull body and having a circumferential upright wall to shield a passenger carried upon the seating structure, the base of the turret being materially spaced in horizontal directions, from the entire circumferential corner.

4. An amusement boat having a length not exceeding twice its width and comprising a relatively flat hull body, upper and lower walls of said body including outer surfaces for engaging and tilting a like hull and converging outwardly to form circumferential corners substantially defining the water line of the body while afloat, a seat arranged centrally of the hull, a turret extending upwardly from the hull body and having an upright protecting wall enclosing the seat, the base of the turret being spaced materially in horizontal directions from the entire circumferential corner, and a motor mounted in front of the seat and having combined rotatable driving and steering means extending through the boat bottom.

5. An amusement boat having a length not exceeding twice its width and comprising a relatively flat hull body, upper and lower walls of said body including outer surfaces for engaging and tilting a like hull and converging outwardly to form circumferential corners coinciding substantially with the normal water line of the boat, seating structure mounted centrally of the hull body at a location materially spaced in horizontal directions from the entire circumferential corner, the bottom of the hull having a channel tapering rearwardly from a location nearer the boat bow, and a driving and steering motor mounted in front of the seating structure and having a propeller disposed in the deeper portion of said channel. i

6. An amusement boat having a length not exceeding twice its width and comprising a relatively flat hull body, upper and lower walls of said body including outer surfaces for engaging and" tilting a like hull and converging outwardly to form circumferential corners substantially coinciding with the normal water line of the boat, and a turret extending upwardly from'the hull and having an upright wall spaced materially in horizontal directions from the entire circumferential corner, the outer surface of the turret being concave and merging into the contour of the hull body.

7. An amusement boat having a length not exceeding twice its width and comprising a relatively flat hull body, upper and lower walls of said body including outer surfaces for engaging and tilting a like hull and converging outwardly to form circumferential corners at substantially the normal water line of the boat, a double seat arranged centrally of the hull body at a location materially spaced in horizontal directions from the entire circumferential corner, said double seat including a front seat and a wider rear seat partially embracing the front seat whereby a passenger seated upon the rear seat will have leg space on opposite sides of the front seat. 7

HYLA F. MAYNES. 

